Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

When his eyes finally met mine, it was a fight not to stiffen. Bright green and glowing. I saw a flashof him sweating, panting over me while I died. Had he saved me? Was he the one who brought me here and then healed me like Cole claimed?

It didn’t seem real.

“They were pixies,” Trick finally said, turning back to the wall. “They were testing the boundaries of whatever is taking away the magic.”

So my shadow had found him. Wherever he had been.

“Pixies?” Cole asked just as a creak met my ears.

My heart slammed as I stepped around Trick, finding Mark’s bedroom door opening slowly.

I quickly limped over, taking him in as he stepped out. Puffy red eyes, exhaustion clear in his face, cheeks red and blotchy.

I hit my knees, the physical pain nothing compared to what I felt in my chest.

He inhaled sharply when he saw me, tears welling in his eyes. “You’re okay,” he cracked, his entire body shaking.

I nodded, my own eyes filling as I ran my hands over him, checking every inch for any sign of damage. “I am, little fox, always.” I sniffed, trying to keep my own sobs in. “Are you okay?”

He slid his small hand over my cheek, his bottom lip trembling.

“Not a scratch on you,” I determined, finally finding his eyes. “That’s good,” I smiled, relief filling me, the tightness in my chest easing. “That’s so good, you’re such a brave boy. I’m so proud of you.”

But his eyes had fallen and with them my smile. I looked down, finding the fading bruisesaround my neck, my collarbone, my hands. There were probably still traces of the ones on my face too. I needed more Mersine Berry juice.

“Mom did all of this, didn’t she?”

“Mark—”

“And all of those bruises you made up stories for. The Vigils, the Tree Giants, the wolves. It was because of her, wasn’t it? You didn’t save any of those creatures, did you?She’sthe one who left all of those marks.”

My throat closed painfully as I slid my hand over his, kissing his palm before I pressed it to my cheek. “I’m okay, I promise,” I tried, my voice breaking. “You don’t have to worry about me, okay? It’s my job to worry about you, it’s your job to have adventures and laugh at my terrible jokes. I’m okay.”

A sob cracked through him, those big tears pouring down his cheeks once more. “She hit you with a pan,” he sobbed, his breathing becoming short and shallow. “Moms are supposed to love us, and she hit you with a pan! I hate her!I hate her!” he screamed, causing me to flinch back. “Wh-why would sh-she do that? You n-never did nothing w-wrong.”

“Shh,” I tried, wiping away his tears, my stomach twisting in pain at the hatred in his voice. Hatred I had tried so hard to keep out of him. “It’s okay, Mark. It’s going to be okay, I swear.”

Mark glared at me, ripping his hand from mine and taking a step back. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’m the—I’m the man of the house. I’m suppo-sed to take care of you. Someone has to worry about you.Someone.You shouldhave told me!”

There was such rage there that I felt my own heart break, and I began to doubt every choice I had ever made. This was selfish. I was selfish. I should have told him something, right? It would have been the right thing to do, wouldn’t it have been? “And you’ve done such a good job,” I whispered, voice thick with tears. “Come here, please? Please.”

“No!” he shouted. “You lied to me! You told me everything was fine! You said you were going out on adventures,helpingpeople, helping the Tree Giants and riding demons! But you lied! It was all a lie! Are demons even real? Have you ever evenseena Tree Giant? You lied to me! You’re such a…a…frickingjerk!”

I flinched back as if he had slapped me, clutching my chest as he sprinted back to his room and slammed the door so hard, the pictures on the wall shook.

A sob caught in my throat. “Mark,” I tried, shoving myself up only to collapse.

Cole caught me with ease, lifting me back to my feet.

I shoved away from him, falling back into the wall. “Don’ttouch me,” I seethed.

He held up his hands again, his gaze soft. “Let me go talk to him,” he offered. “You need to sit. I’ll go talk to him. Man to man.”

I wanted to argue. I wanted to shove through that door, grab Mark, and explain to him why I had done it, that I was trying to protect him, but I was shaking, and I knew me going in there now would only make things worse.

Finally, I nodded, glancing to the bedroom door, my heart thudding.

I pushed away from the wall, but not without effort, as Cole turned for the door. “Don’t lecture him on name calling,” I said just before Cole knocked. “He’s just angry. He’s never done it before, so don’t bring it up.”